Schools and Staffing Survey Questionnaires
1900 K Street NW, Suite 9000
Washington DC 20006
1) Militarymembership in the Association of American Military Colleges and Schools;Schools with multiple affiliations were classified by their first affiliation in the list above. For consistency with the typology, one exception was made. One school with a religious affiliation other than Catholic that reported membership in the National Catholic Education Association was not counted as a Catholic school. One affiliation category, NIPSA, was newly added in 1993- 94. Although it will be included as a separate category in future SASS private school reports, NIPSA schools were grouped in the "all other" private schools in this report.2) Catholicaffiliation as Catholic or membership in the National Catholic Education Association or the Jesuit Secondary Education Association;
3) Friendsaffiliation as Friends or membership in the Friends Council on Education;
4) Episcopalaffiliation as Episcopal or membership in the National Association of Episcopal Schools;
5) Hebrew Daymembership in the National Society for Hebrew Day Schools;
6) Solomon Schechtermembership in the Solomon Schechter Day Schools;
7) Other Jewishother Jewish affiliation; 8) Missouri Synodmembership in the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod;
9) Wisconsin Synodmembership in the Evangelical Lutheran Church - Wisconsin Synod or affiliation as Evangelical Lutheran - Wisconsin Synod;
10) Evangelical Lutheranmembership in the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches or affiliation as Evangelical Lutheran Church in America;
11) Other Lutheranother Lutheran affiliation;
12) Seventh-Day Adventistaffiliation as Seventh-Day Adventist or membership in the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists;
13) Christian Schools Internationalmembership in Christian Schools International;
14) Association of Christian Schools Internationalmembership in the Association of Christian Schools International;
15) National Association of Private Schools for Exceptional Children membership in the National Association of Private Schools for Exceptional Children;
16) Montessorimembership in the American Montessori Society or other Montessori associations;
17) National Association of Independent Schoolsmember of the National Association of Independent Schools;
18) National Independent Private School Associationmember of the National Independent Private School Association;
19) All Other Private Schoolsmember of any other association specified in the PSS or affiliated with a group not listed above or not a member of any association.
The grade levels of schools are defined in the following way:
Elementary Lowest grade < 6 and highest grade < 8 Secondary Lowest grade > 7 and highest grade < 12 Combined Lowest grade < 6 and highest grade > 8As used in this report, middle schools refer to those elementary, secondary, and combined schools whose lowest grade is 4 or higher and whose highest grade is 7, 8, or 9.
Comparisons between public and private schools are only possible at the national and regional levels, because private schools are selected for sampling by association group and not by geographic location, such as state.
Each selected school was asked to provide a list of their teachers and selected characteristics. Nine percent of the private schools and four percent of the public schools did not provide teacher lists. A factor in the teacher weighting system was used to adjust for these nonparticipant schools.
The number in sample is the number of in-scope, or eligible cases. This number excludes the out-of-scope cases, which are drawn for the sample but are not eligible for interview. For example, a school which has closed or a teacher who has left the country would be considered out-of-scope.
The number of interviews is the number of in-scope (eligible) cases minus the noninterview cases. The noninterview cases include refusals or sample questionnaires with too little valid data to be considered complete interviews for the survey. The number of interviews is the actual unweighted number of cases upon which estimates in this report are based. A nonresponse adjustment is included in the weights to reduce the bias due to nonresponse.
Table III.1 Number of in-scope sample cases and number of interviews, private school districts, principals, and schools: SASS 199394
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Private schools Private principals Private teachers ------------------------- ------------------------- ------------------------- # in sample # intvws. # in sample # intvws. # in sample # intvws. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All private schools 3,074 2,585 3,143 2,722 10,386 8,372 Catholic 921 818 1,023 831 3,680 3,061 Parochial 465 408 462 427 1,776 1,474 Diocesan 290 263 290 244 1,192 988 Private Order 166 147 271 160 712 599 Other Religious 1,419 1,151 1,394 1,236 4,404 3,483 Conservative Christian 325 248 322 274 929 667 Affiliated 708 574 702 631 2,239 1,790 Unaffiliated 386 329 370 331 1,236 1,026 Nonsectarian 734 616 726 655 2,302 1,828 Regular program 366 297 364 321 1,279 1036 Special emphasis 182 150 176 160 582 436 Special education 186 169 186 174 441 356 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: The number of in-scope cases in sample excludes out-of-scope, or ineligible, cases. Reasons for a school, principal, or teacher to be out-of-scope include school closure, principal or teacher leaving the school. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, , Schools and Staffing Survey, 199394(School Questionnaire, Principal Questionnaire, and Teacher Questionnaire).There are still other reasons for a case to be considered out-of-scope.
Table IV.1 Data collection time schedule
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Activity Date of activity --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Introductory letters mailed to school districts September 1993 Introductory letters and teacher listing sheets mailed October 1993 to schools Census field representatives called school districts to October 1993 obtain the name of a contact person to whom the Teacher Demand and Shortage questionnaire should be addressed Lists of teachers provided by schools OctoberDecember 1993 First mailing of questionnaires to school districts and December 1993 school principals First mailing of questionnaires to schools and to JanuaryFebruary 1994 teachers Second mailing of questionnaires to districts and January 1994 school principals Second mailing of questionnaires to schools and FebruaryMarch 1994 teachers Telephone follow-up of mail nonrespondents MarchJune 1994 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table V.1 Final weighted response rates by private school type for private school administrators, schools, and teachers
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Private school type Principals Schools Teachers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ All private schools 87.6% 83.2% 80.2% Catholic 92.4 88.8 83.2 Parochial 92.4 88.0 83.2 Diocesan 93.3 90.9 82.7 Private order 89.4 87.9 84.2 Other religious 82.7 77.5 75.0 Conservative Christian 82.6 76.5 70.1 Affiliated 81.9 76.5 75.4 Unaffiliated 83.6 79.5 80.5 Nonsectarian 89.7 86.1 81.6 Regular 90.6 86.4 82.7 Special emphasis 89.0 81.4 78.0 Special education 88.5 93.2 81.1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey, 199394 (Principal Questionnaire, School Questionnaire, and Teacher Question-naire).Teacher response rates refer to the percentage of teachers responding in schools that provided teacher lists for sampling. Nine percent of private schools and 4 percent of public schools did not send in teacher lists. The effective response rate is calculated by multiplying together the teacher list rate and the response rate:
Private teachers: (.91 x .801) x 100 = .7289 x 100 = 72.9 percent effective response rate
Responding teachers were weighted to represent all teachers. Some teach ers responded even though no school questionaire was returned from their school. Responses from those teachers are included in the main graphic pro files. However, because the 18-category private school type was not deter mined for these teachers, their responses were not included in the Tables Section or in the graphic profiles by affiliation.
Table V.2 Summary of unweighted private sector item response rates by questionnaire
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- % of items % of items Range of with a response with a response item response rate of rate of less Survey rates 90% or more than 75% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Principal Survey 55-100% 90% 6% School Survey 61-100% 77% 3% Teacher Survey 69-100% 89% 1% Student Survey 84-100% 97% 0% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey, 1993-94 (Principal Questionnaire, School Questionnaire, and Teacher Question-naire).Table V.3 Items with private sector response rates of less than 75 percent*
-------------------------------------------------------------- Survey Items -------------------------------------------------------------- Principal Survey 14b(1,1), 14b(2,1), 14b(4,1), 14b(5,1), 14b(8,1), 21a, 21c, 28b School Survey 31c(2), 31c(5), 31c(6), 31c(7), 31c(8), 31c(9) Teacher Survey 39, 51c, 55 -------------------------------------------------------------- */ The questionnaire wording for these items can be found in The Schools and Staffing Surveys: 199394, Data File Users Manual, a forthcoming NCES publication. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey, 199394 (Principal Questionnaire, School Questionnaire, and Teacher Questionnaire).Item 14b concerns principals previously held school positions. Items 21a and c concern principals eligibility and plans to retire. Item 28b concerns the tribal enrollment of American Indian or Alaska Native principals. Item 31c concerns the difficulty of filling vacancies in various fields. Item 39 concerns teachers number of classes/sections taught per week. Item 51c concerns teachers plans to retire from teaching. Item 55 concerns teachers total comp-bined family income.
For some incomplete items, the entry from another part of the questionnaire or information from the sample file was directly imputed to complete the item; for others the entry was used as part of an adjustment factor with other data on the incomplete record. For example, if a respondent did not report whether a school offered remedial reading in item 22a of the public school questionnaire, the response (1 = Yes or 2 = No) for a similar school was imputed to item 22a of the incomplete record. However, if a respondent had answered "Yes" to item 22a but had not reported the number of students in the program, the ratio of number of students in remedial reading to the total enrollment for a similar school was used with the enrollment at the school for which item 22a was incomplete to impute an entry to item 22a (i.e., SCHOOL A item 22a = SCHOOL A ENROLLMENT multiplied by the ratio of SCHOOL B item 22a to SCHOOL B ENROLLMENT).
Values were imputed to items with missing data for records that had been classified as interviews (ISR=1). Noninterview adjustment factors were used during the data weighting process to compensate for data that were missing because the sample case was a noninterview (ISR=2). For more information about imputation procedures, see Abramson et al. (1996).
When multiple statistical tests of significance are made on differences between figures in a table, then it is much more likely than .05 that some difference will be "significant" by chance. The Bonferroni correction can be applied to adjust for the increased likelihood of finding some difference significant. This correction involves definition of a "family" of comparisons and division of the alpha level (for reporting significance) by the number of comparisons in that family. A family is defined here as comparisons involving a single column of a table in the report. The definitions of family size for comparisons made in this report are one (1) when comparing the overall public-private graphic profile, except: for grade levels served, k = 3; for elementary services, k = 4; for secondary requirements, k = 5; for ratings of problems, k = 7; for teacher influence, k = 4; for satisfaction, k = 4; and for certification, k = 2. A family size of k = 9 is used for comparisons of typology profiles, such as Catholic parochial, with overall private school averages. In the Tables Section highlights, K = 1 for private versus public comparisons, k = 9 for typology comparisons, and k = 18 for private school type comparisons.
e. The level of student misbehavior (e.g., noise, horseplay or fighting in the halls, cafeteria, or student lounge) in this school interferes with my teaching.
k. My principal (or school head) enforces school rules for student con duct and backs me up when I need it.
m. Rules for student behavior are consistently enforced by teachers in this school, even for students who are not in their classes.
a. student tardiness
b. student absenteeism
c. teacher absenteeism
d. students cutting class
e. physical conflicts among students
f. robbery or theft
g. vandalism of school property
h. student pregnancy
i. student use of alcohol
j. student drug abuse
k. student possession of weapons
l. verbal abuse of teachers
m. student disrespect for teachers
n. students dropping out
o. student apathy
p. lack of academic challenge
q. lack of parental involvement
s. poverty
t. racial tension
f. establishing curriculum
a. selecting textbooks and other instructional materials
b. selecting content, topics, and skills to be taught
c. selecting teaching techniques
d. evaluating and grading students
e. disciplining students
f. determining the amount of homework to be assigned
Item 46 (f, h, i, j, n)
Community: Lack of serious problems stemming from parental alcoholism/ drug abuse, poverty, and racial tension
Item 46 (r, s, t)
Involvement: Academic challenge, parent involvement, and absence of apathy
Item 46 (o, p, q)
Behavior Standards: Systematic enforcement of agreed upon discipline policy and student behavioral standards
Item 47 (k, m)
Attendance: Lack of serious tardiness and absence problems
Item 46 (a, b, c, d)
Respect for Teachers: Lack of serious problems with verbal abuse and disrespect of teachers
Item 46 (e, k, l, m)
Respect for Students: Belief that students are capable of learning and do not have attitudes and habits that reduce their learning potential
Item 47 (e)
Item 46 (f, g)
Teachers Influence on Curriculum:
Item 44 ( f)
Item 45 (a, b)
Teachers Classroom Control: Selecting teaching techniques, assigning homework, and evaluating and disciplining students
Item 45 (c, d, e, f)
Average Class Size: Item 37
"Which of these categories best describes the way your classes at this
school are organized?"
1. Departmentalized instruction
2. Elementary enrichment class
3. Self-contained class
4. Team teaching
5. Pull-out class
If answer 1, then use item 40b
"For each class (or section) you taught during your most recent FULL
WEEK of teaching, how many students were enrolled in the class?" In this
case, the average class size reported by the teacher was used.
If answer 2, then use item 41a
"What is the total number of students enrolled in all the classes you teach at
this school?"
If answer 3, 4, or 5, then use item 38a
"At this school, how many students were enrolled in the class or program
you taught during your most recent FULL WEEK of teaching?"
Region: Percentages of schools by region are based on the predefined region variable for sampled schools. States in the Northeast region are: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. States in the South region are: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. States in the Midwest Region are: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. States in the West region are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washingon, and Wyoming.
Elementary School Students Receiving Special Services:
Title I: item 39b
"Around the first of October, how many students enrolled in this school
received Chapter 1 services at this school, or any other location?"
Bilingual/ESL: item 34f
"English as Second Language - Students with limited English proficiency
are provided with intensive instruction in English" (indicate whether the
program or service is currently available at this school either during or outside
of regular school hours and regardless of funding)
-None or ____ Students
Special Education: item 34c
"Programs for students with disabilities - Instruction for the mentally
retarded, specific learning disabled, physically disabled, and other students
with disabilities." -None or ____ Students
Extended Day: item 34e
"Extended day or before-school or after-school day care programs."
-None or ____Students
Minority Student Percentage: item 8
"Around the first of October, how many students were:"
Grade Level Served: item 6
"How many students were enrolled in each of the grades shown on the
front page, plus any ungraded levels, around the first of October?"
(Ungraded, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd,...,12th).
Tuition Amounts at Elementary and Other Schools: item 19c
"What is the highest ANNUAL tuition charged by this school for a full-time
student?"
Secondary School Resources and Graduation Requirements:
This graph is based on several items in the school questionnaire:
Library: item 35 "Does this school have a library media center/library?"
Remedial Reading: item 34b
"Remedial reading - Organized compensatory, diagnostic, and remedial
activities designed to correct and prevent difficulties in the development of
reading skills."
3+ yrs Science and 1+ yr Foreign Language: item 42b
"For high school graduation for students in the class of 1994, how many
years of instruction are required in each of the following areas?"
Community Service Requirement: item 43a
"Does this school have a community service requirement for students in the
class of 1994?"
Graduation requirements were only averaged over private schools or public districts that answered "yes" to question 42a - "Does this school [district] grant regular high school diplomas?"
Minority Teacher Percentage: item 24
"Around the first of October, how many part-time and full-time TEACHERS
in this school were:"
Teachers Ratings of Moderate or Serious Problems: item 46
"To what extent is each of the following matters a problem in this school?
Indicate whether it is a serious problem, a moderate problem, a minor problem,
or not a problem in this school."
Attendance: (a) - "Student tardiness"
Robbery/Vandalism:
Alcohol/Drugs:
Physical Conflict/Weapons:
Apathy/Unprepared:
Poverty/Racial Tension:
Dropouts:
The percentage is of teachers who indicated that at least one of the pair of items was a moderate or serious problem.
Teacher Influence on School Policy and Control Over Classroom Prac tice:
Item 44
"At this school, how much actual influence do you think teachers have over
school policy in each of the following areas?"
The percentages are of teachers who responded by checking "4" or "5" on a scale in which "0" means "No influence" or "No control" and "5" means "A great deal of incluence" or "Complete control".
Item 45
"At this school, how much control do you feel you have in your classroom
over each of the following areas of your planning and teaching?"
Satisfaction with Teaching: item 47
"Do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?"
Percentages are of teachers who responded with "agree" or "strongly agree."
Item 48
"If you could go back to your college days and start over again, would you
become a teacher or not?"
Percentages are of teachers who responded either "certainly ..." or "probably would become a teacher" and not either "chances about even for and against" or "certainly ..." or "probably would not become a teacher."
Education Attainment:
Principals:
Teachers:
Item 11b
"How many years of elementary or secondary teaching experience did you
have SINCE becoming a principal/school head?"
Item 17
"Prior to this school year, how many years were you employed in each of
the following positions?"
Teachers:
Item 9a
"Have you ever worked as an elementary or secondary teacher in a PUBLIC
SCHOOL?"
Item 9b/c
"How many years did you teach (b) FULL-TIME / (c) PART-TIME in
public schools?"
Item 10a/b
"How many years have you worked as a (a) FULL-TIME / (b) PART-TIME
elementary or secondary teacher in PRIVATE schools? Include the
current school year if you are a full-time/part-time teacher this year.
Teacher Certification:
Item 27a
"Of the total FTE teachers reported in item 26d, how many held regular or
standard STATE certification in their fields of assignment around October
1?"
Item 27b
"Of the total FTE teacher reported in item 26d, how many have been certified
by a private school organization or association?"
Salary Levels:
Principals:
Item 22a
"What is your current annual salary for this position before taxes and
deduction?"
Teachers:
Item 53b
"During the current school year" - "what is your academic year base teaching
salary?"